Subj: Consequences of Falling ch. 31
Date: 7/26/01 4:35:44 PM Central Daylight Time
From: Nicole

Collinwood, 7:00 PM

Although they had not gone to the wedding together, Barnabas and Julia took Constance and Quentin back to Collinwood. There seemed to be no comfort zone between them, leaving a heavy silence throughout the car. Barnabas noticed that Julia would occasionally look back at the couple and sigh. Constance seemed to cling to Quentin, holding him as if she were afraid she would lose him. Barnabas did not understand it, but he honestly did not want to. The duo would be gone in a few hours and he would gladly have them away, taking the insanity that seemed to follow them back to their home.

The moment they arrived at Collinwood, Constance ran to the west wing to pack. Julia ended up talking with Elizabeth, leaving Barnabas and Quentin alone together for the first time since the argument. Their relationship had known all extremes, swinging from being bitter enemies to close friends. Now they existed in the odd area between enemy and friend, making idle chatter a near impossibility. "Do you really have to leave so soon?" Barnabas finally asked him.

"Yes," whispered Quentin. "We've been here long enough."

"You don't have to leave just because your wife wants to go."

"Who said that Constance is the one who wants to leave?" snapped Quentin. "This place has so many bad memories for me. I'm only glad that she wants to leave as badly as I do."

A knock interrupted the tension. Quentin abruptly left the room to answer. Barnabas could make out only brief conversation: "A note for Quentin Collins." "That's me. Thank you." Only seconds after the door closed, Quentin ran back into the drawing room and locked the doors behind him. he handed the note to Barnabas and said, "You have to see this."

Hesitantly, Barnabas read the note:

"Quentin

Long ago I gave you freedom and I asked for your services in return. I have yet to receive my payment. If you cannot--or refuse--to pay, I shall have to take away part of my gift until you understand your obligation. Remember your wife when you make your decision and choose well.

Count Andreas Petofi"

"What am I supposed to do?" asked Quentin.

"Nothing now," said Barnabas. "You don't know if he'll do it."

"Of course he'll do it! Why wouldn't he?"

"I suppose your right." Barnabas returned the note to Quentin and said, "But you can't give in to him."

"If it were only me involved, I would agree with you. But it's not just me. What do I tell Constance?"

"Why do you have to tell her?"

"Because she's my wife!" insisted Quentin. "She has bound herself both legally and spiritually to me when she probably shouldn't have. She knows that I was once a werewolf and she knows how I was cured. What am I going to tell her if the cure is taken away?"

"Tell her nothing," insisted Barnabas.

"But I think she's known others like me in her life. She might be able to help."

"And what if she hasn't? What if she can't help you? Listen, you should not worry her without need," said Barnabas calmly. "This note may be a hoax. Just go back to New York and forget about it."

"Yes, go back to New York, where all dreams become reality," said Angelique, the drawing room key dangling between her fingers. She turned to Quentin and said, "Constance has finished packing."

"Then I need to go." Quentin ran quickly from the room, barely giving a second glance to the people he left behind.

Angelique turned angrily to Barnabas and asked, "What trash are you telling him?"

"Nothing," said Barnabas defensively. He moved closer to Angelique, barely able to control himself when faced with her beauty. "I can assure you it's nothing like the rubbish Josef Maugham fed you."

"Josef is a fool, a sweet fool," she said. "He's a fool who matters as little to me as you do now."

"You can't mean that," said Barnabas. He took Angelique into his arms and held her closely, their mouths only inches apart. "Being this close to me, you can't say you feel nothing."

"I feel nothing," said Angelique proudly. "Now kindly let me go before I scream for your wife. You wouldn't appreciate that, would you?"

Dark Shadows is a Dan Curtis Production.